Author Notes: Thanks Eli. W for reviewing.
The man immediately went pale at this pronouncement and encouraged his Pokémon onwards. Lelana's eyes were slightly wild and she repetitively and slightly desperately tugged at his clothes roughly, 'what the hell is hunter squad 13?' He paused before answering, 'you don't want to know. Let's hope we get out of range.'
Lelana stopped worrying him, though by her face she obviously wasn't reassured. Jack was handling himself slightly better, although inside he was terrified of falling off his precarious perch. They rose out of the ground and moved very quickly to the cover of clouds, trying to lose their trackers. With his survival instincts in control Jack thoroughly scanned his surroundings for any sign of their vicious attackers. Because of his vigilance he was the first to see what they are facing.
'What the fuck is that?' Jack almost screamed as he saw a killing machine bank through the air beside them. 'Squad 13,' said the man quietly, 'is the newest and most deadly squad of all the Rocket assassination crews. It was formed after a break-in to Pewter Museum and a Cinnabar scientist was kidnapped to form a squad that has killed over seventy victims in forty successful missions. This squad has never failed to kill a victim and you can see why!'
Squad 13 consisted of a dozen ferocious flying Pokémon. Their body was made out of stone, their jaws full of huge, serrated fangs and their wings large with a thick, leathery membrane. A long tail with an arrow-tip at the end was used to steer the hulking prehistoric nightmare through the air with consummate ease.
Soon all twelve of the creatures were closing in on the fugitive trainers, their large mouths salivating and their trainers, tucked low against their bodies for greater aerodynamics, smiling as they closed in on their victims. The man stayed calm even amidst what seemed like certain death and he released one of his other Pokémon to help him in combat.
It was as strange and intimidating as his other Pokémon, a tall bird encased in gleaming steel with knife-like red feathers making up lethal wings. The Pokémon immediately banked off to the side like a jet fighter, smashing into one of the prehistoric Pokémon at full speed.
The dangerous tackle smashed straight through one of the Pokémon's wing membrane, disabling it with one astutely tactical decision. The creature immediately began to slew uncontrollably through the air and suddenly began to somersault downwards towards a messy end.
The metal bird wasn't letting up. It began to fight two more of the creatures at once, its steel hide deflecting any blows that the creatures managed to land. The bird seemed made for air to air combat and it managed to drive back the two brutes with its incredible endurance, speed, agility and surprising power. However it could not fight all eleven of the remaining creatures. It could only distract two, leaving the trainers hounded by nearly a full squadron of killers.
'You two have any flying Pokémon?' asked the trainer hopefully, his lips pursed in an angry frown. Both Lelana and Jack replied negative. He pursed his lips even more, his face screwing up in concentration. That was when the creatures decided to engage. With an unspoken signal they all suddenly twisted their wing position and homed in towards their prey from all sides.
The attack was initially repulsed by a desperate psychic shockwave released by the tank-like Pokémon, but that was a mere short-term deterrent and their attack was only really stopped for a couple of seconds. Very soon they were edging uncomfortably close again.
The trainer tossed his head from side to side like a caged lion, taking in his other Pokémon fighting for its life and the flesh hungry beasts closing in from him. Finally he sighed sadly. 'You made me do this. I was going to let you live but you pushed me too far.' He reached for another Pokéball, this one identical to Jack's "master ball," and released a Pokémon.
It was rather an anticlimax. The Pokémon was only one foot tall. Its head was in the shape of yellow star with teal coloured tags swinging likely in the wind. It blinked at the two strange trainers unhappily hugging the round metal body below them and the strange, dangerous situation that it had been so rudely thrown into.
As the creatures closed in around it the Pokémon's face took on an indignant look. A third eye on its stomach suddenly opened, a vivid green iris rimmed by tiny yellow scales, and suddenly everything changed. The green iris turned completely purple and every single one of the powerful creatures was crushed by one thought from the small, doleful Pokémon.
Their rock hard bodies were compressed, their bones snapped into tiny pieces until they were but small crumpled balls of rock. Then they fell, their riders screaming as only empty air hung for thousands of metres between them where there had previously been solidity.
Jack was stunned at seeing such a small, somehow pathetic, looking Pokémon exhibit such tremendous, unbelievable power. He was further surprised as the Pokémon stepped confidently off the fasting moving steel platform beneath it into the empty air and looked down at the falling hunters.
It seemed to have no concept of the fact that it should be falling like a stone through the air, instead it floated happily, moving sideways alongside its trainer at tremendous speed, and gestured at the screaming hunters below. They froze barely metres from the ground and with childlike interest it pointed a figure at them.
One of the hunters was crushed into the ground. The Pokémon frowned, tilting its head to the right, it poked at the hunters again and one more was killed by the probing Pokémon.
The suited trainer sighed and recalled his Pokémon, 'so much power,' he muttered, 'but so naїve and childlike that one. She's given me no end of trouble.' They returned to the thick, soggy clouds and flew on in oppressive silence, no-one knowing quite what to say to break the peace. After a while the trainer finally spoke, 'I know you're wandering who I am and why I rescued you from that place so I'm going to answer your questions.'
He held up his hands to stem speech from both Lelana and Jack, 'my name is Steven Stone. I am the official Champion of the Hoenn region and have been for over ten years.'
Steven paused to let that knowledge sink in and to see the two trainers eyes light up with awe and respect, 'I have rescued you from the Underground for a very specific reason. Since I have an extremely good relationship with the Kanto region for reasons which I will not delve into they have contracted me to carry out a mission. You will help me.'
It was not a question. It was a statement. 'What if we don't want to,' asked Jack boldly, even though he had a sinking feeling that he knew what the answer would be. 'Tough,' said Steven shortly, his body language suddenly closing up and exuding controlled violence.
'You will help me. You have no choice. Just remember that it will be rewarding for you. By accepting, you will be cleared of any criminal charges that we could otherwise fix on you. If you help me succeed this mission you will be each given all the remaining badges that you need and you will also be entered in the Kanto regional championships.'
Jack began nodding, 'I accept, though I'm not happy at not having much choice about it.' Lelana echoed his sentiment, 'ditto,' she said, her voice shaking with a mixture of anger, fear and disbelief.
Steven smiled suddenly, revealing a shock of straight, white teeth, 'just as I expected. We will be-' suddenly his Pokémon rocked and began to nosedive towards the ground. It began to let out a low screech of pain and Jack caught a glimpse of a large Pidgeot below them. Steven swore, 'I thought we'd lost those bastards,' he said, guiding his Pokémon into a smooth downwards glide. 'At least it's a lesser hunter squadron.'
Jack did a double take, 'it's not like you had much trouble with the last troop. Your Pokémon destroyed them.' Steven ignored him studiously, bracing himself for the landing. They landed with a violent jolt that threw both Jack and Lelana headlong off their perch. The two young trainers hit the ground hard and slowly picked themselves up. 'Get ready to fight people,' said Steven, returning his large Pokémon for the first time, 'we're going to be absolutely swamped.'
Before both Jack and Lelana could indicate that their Pokémon weren't at full strength they were indeed swamped. It looked like the whole of Team Rocket had been sent after them and over fifty Pokémon of five different types filed up in a wide semi-circle around them. There was a squad of flitting, blood-sucking Crobat, a squad of magnificent Pidgeot, a squad of flared, intimidating Arbok, a squad of thickly muscled, irate Primeape and squad of compact but faintly terrifying Marowak.
Steven released every single one of his Pokémon so a powerful looking arrangement of steely Pokémon with the tiny, childlike Pokémon positioned directly in the middle and looking distinctly uninterested and unafraid by the perilous situation that it had once again been released into. 'Why aren't you releasing your Pokémon?' asked Steven, 'I know my Pokémon are strong but we're so totally outnumbered that we will be overwhelmed if you don't help.'
Lelana held up her hands in apology, 'all mine were fainted in our little battle.' Steven sighed, 'fucking great,' he muttered, 'and you.' His voice was a little savage. 'I only have one Pokémon left,' replied Jack, releasing Kabi instantly. Steven looked the huge Pokémon up and down and nodded appreciatively. 'Great, we'll shelter behind her whilst my Pokémon attack. Does she know any ranged attacks?'
Jack nodded silently before curiously asking, 'how did you know Kabi was a she?' Steven tapped his nose enigmatically with a bony index finger, 'you don't live as a trainer for over thirty years without picking up some specialist knowledge.' Jack was stopped for asking any more questions by a strange declaration from the Rocket masses.
'Our glorious leader Giovanni has ordered that we must kill you therefore we must carry out his orders for he is full of wisdom.' Jack frowned but Steven cut him off before he even spoke, 'don't even ask. Their loyalty is so screwed up that it is laughable. This announcement is common.'
With a flurry of barked commands the Rockets attacked as one. The three outnumbered trainers hid behind the bulk of the large Snorlax and watched as Steven's six Pokémon were tested to their very limit. The battle descended into chaos with a fine mist of blood that seemed to cover Jack's vision.
He only saw the battle in stops and starts, such was its incredible intensity, as he zoned out for whole minutes at a time as his survival instincts caused him to act without any conscious thought.
In the battle Steven's Pokémon showed why they were the Pokémon of a Champion. Throughout Steven seemed to have a telepathic connection with his pride and joy, muttering under his breath commands that were picked up and understood even though the Pokémon were well out of earshot.
The hunters were much more of a nuisance than the regular grunts. They were skilled trainers in their own right with highly trained Pokémon who never shied away from the battle. However, they were no match for a regional Champion. They barely got within range of Kabi's powerful limbs such was the power of those six steel Pokémon.
The doleful one, which Steven never referred to by name or type, kept a small circle around it which all of the hunter's Pokémon feared to enter. Anything which entered the circle was crushed to death. For most of the battle it seemed completely uninterested and was only angered at one point.
A Pidgeot dropped on in from above and pinned it to the ground. The third eye on its stomach opened and fixed the Pidgeot with a startling green iris. The Pidgeot was smashed by controlled psychic energy with such force that its body was transmuted into a fine dust. After that it was mostly left to its own devices as it did not attack without being provoked.
A huge armoured Pokémon with a helmeted head complete with two enormous, razor sharp horns seemed to have most impact physically in the battle. The "Aggron" – as called by Steven – was enormously strong and almost completely unaffected by all physical attacks landed upon him. The whole squad of Primeape took it upon themselves to batter it into submission, attacking in a tangle of powerful punches and kicks.
Each wave was shrugged off by the seven foot creature, its incredibly thick armoured hide protecting it from the force of the blows, and repulsed with a swinging tail, thrusting horns and deadly steel claws.
When it seemed like it was going to be overwhelmed as the hunters managed to bring their Pokémon under control and actually assemble some type of plan it was saved by an unlikely helper. This jackal-like creature "Lucario" was only four foot tall but it cruised through the Primeape coolly, easily besting them in hand-to-hand combat and doling out death blows which snapped bones left and right.
Fighting back to back the two creatures overwhelmed the Primeape and soon none of the irate monkeys were left standing. This enabled the Pokémon to turn and help Steven's other three Pokémon – the doleful one didn't really need helping – who were being hard pressed by the Pidgeot, Arbok and Marowak.
The hunter's Pokémon worked as a seamless team; the Pidgeot unleashing a hail of physical attacks which harried Steven's Pokémon from the air, the Arbok were incredibly dangerous using their thick, muscled bodies to smash and constrict and using their poison fangs to inflict poisonous wounds which severely weakened any Pokémon with the misfortune to be inflicted with them and the Marowak were a force to be reckoned with in hand-to-hand combat using their bone clubs to inflict crushing blows and absorbing any punches to the head with immunity thanks to their bony skulls.
Even with the combined force of the metal feathered "Skarmory," the nearly transparent "Metagross" and the seemingly out of place steel winged and crowned penguin "Empoleon" the sheer mass of their opponents were threatening to inflict injuries on the creatures.
The Metagross' bursts of psychic energy were becoming much less frequent and powerful and a number of scratches and cuts were inflicted on its smooth hide. The Skarmory was forced to the ground where it seemed uncomfortable. It was still deadly, attacking with razor sharp wings and deft but fatal jabs with its knife-like beak, but it was not used to hand-to-hand combat and left itself open to a number of painful blows which pitted and dented its previously smooth and shiny steel-plated skin.
The Empoleon was surprisingly powerful in battle for what looked like a giant overgrown penguin. It blocked any blow with its thick, metallic armour before replying with the razor sharp edge in large cleaving blows which bludgeoned and stunned any Pokémon that were stupid enough to come within reach.
Every so often a powerful blast of pressurized water issuing from its golden beak would save him from any potentially deadly situation. A well aimed blow from its metal trident would deftly gut an attacker and a sideways flick would potentially knock an attacker out cold. However it had taken a number of body blows and was bleeding from a number of superficial cuts. It wouldn't be long before the wounds became deeper and deeper.
The Skarmory fell first and was immediately set upon by the whole pack of Arbok. They repeatedly struck with lightning fast bites and so the metal surface was torn through by the ravening fangs. Steven recalled his Pokémon and for the first time Kabi was brought into direct combat.
She lumbered to her feet and lashed out clumsily with large fists. Though the attacks were quite slow they were devastatingly powerful and soon the "Lucario" and the "Aggron" had joined the fray and cut them off completely from their trainers and the other Pokémon.
With nowhere to run to the Arbok were knocked out by a number of slow but well-aimed punches of great power which inflicted terrible damage on a Pokémon unlucky enough to stray within reach. It was not too long before Kabi was exhibiting her berserker tendencies and all of the Arbok had been smashed to a bony pulp and recalled by their now less confident trainers.
The battle continued long into the day. As the battle wore on Steven's Pokémon had more and more of a disadvantage as they tired much faster than their more numerous opponents. By the end of the battle each of the Pokémon were bleeding from numerous wounds and could barely fight anymore. They looked like the walking wounded and emerged somehow having beaten every single one of their opponents.
It was after hours and hours that the hunters retreated. Even in retreat they managed to be both intimidating and self effacing in their profuse apologising to their "wonderful master" Giovanni. It was creepy but Jack was just glad that they had finally left.
Steven looked exhausted and turned around, 'thanks for the wonderful help!' he said sarcastically, 'I'm so glad I picked you for this job.' At the outraged look on his two young companion's faces he caught himself and apologised, 'sorry about that. I'm just absolutely exhausted from that battle. Third hardest thing I have ever had to do.'
Lelana spoke up for the first time in a long time and she had finally regained some of her characteristic fire, 'so, why did you kidnap as then, Champion?' she demanded sarcastically, 'to give us a demonstration of your battling prowess?' Jack chuckled at the venomous words and at the Champion's surprised and chastened look.
'No actually. As I've said you're going to be helping me on a special mission. It will be the hardest thing we've all ever had to do. That ordeal will look like a picnic. The Elite Four will look like a picnic. Victory Road will look like a picnic.' The two young trainers waited for him to elaborate but there were no further words coming. It was Jack who actually asked the question. 'What are we doing then?'
It was a while before Steven spoke again and his voice was completely deadpan when he described the task before him. 'We're finding and executing Mewtwo, the most powerful Pokémon in the world.'
Author Notes: I have changed Steven's team so all of his pokemon are steel types to keep with his steel type pokemon mantra. I have not named the "small, doleful pokemon" but I'm sure you can guess what it is. Those who cannot, think legendary. Please R & R people.